DAISY AMES

The beginning of a new column called, These Dais...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:48:03 -0500

In addition to my Urban Design studio led by Ed Mitchell, Architecture Theory II with Ariane Harrison, Systems Integration with Martin Finio, Site and Building seminar with Steven Harris, and Diagrammatic Analysis seminar with Peter Eisenman, I am also auditing a course led by Keith Krumwiede. This course is called Performance Criticism and looks specifically at the non-architectural writings of Reyner Banham which were published in various magazines and architectural journals in the 50’s and 60’s. Banham believed it was important to educate architects about (pop) culture, science, technology and occurrences outside their own profession. Such articles ranged from race car events in England, sci-fi movies and machine aesthetics of the time.

I am really enthusiastic about this course because it forces us to think about culture as a whole, not just the academic environment that we tend to get too absorbed. These sorts of small anthropological pieces have sparked an interesting dialogue about our current state because architects are capable of affecting “change in a dynamic and highly contested world of ideas and products,” as Keith states. The weekly discussions make us wonder whether these investigations lead us to any sort of concrete conclusion about our culture and/or if there is any architectural merit in these pieces. Regardless, being aware and educated about the moment you live in, cognizant of current influences, design, technology, new methods of exchanging information and establishing identity is important to architecture. Understanding how these things “perform” is even more crucial to instigating the types of dynamic developments that are asked of architects. Therefore, I am going to start to comment - perhaps without a clear architectural/academic focus - about our contemporary influences, the way media allows us to interact, current trends, and fashion… basically “important” happenings in our society, through the eyes of an architecture graduate student at Yale and a 20 something year old in New York City. The title of these essays and observations will be called: “These Dais.”

(Left: Coy Reyner Banham. Right: Architecture Ryan Gosling *Meme*)

Analyzing the Koshino House by Tadao Ando...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:26:00 -0500

The other elective I am taking this semester, along with Peter Eisenman’s Diagrammatic Analysis course on Piranesi’s Campo Marzio, is Steven Harris’ Site and Building class. I am really excited about this class because designing homes is my ultimate goal in architecture. We have to give a presentation on the specific way a house of our choice relates to the site - dissecting every designed inch of it! Really awesome to see and learn the motives behind each move. I have chosen Tadao Ando’s Koshino House in Kobe, Japan completed in 1984.

I was not familiar with this project, but looking forward to studying it more after spending some time looking at drawings and images. I enjoy the way the house reacts to the constraints of the sloping site, and how it appears to intricately nestle and stubbornly interject it at the same time. This provides a reading from within the house that harmonizes the physical state and phenomenological occurrences in relation to light, transparency and program.

I also appreciate that this house can be analyzed as an independent diagram as well as an organic resultant of the site - both cases which reinforce the simple plan. I’d like to understand why this house appears to be so sound, but hopefully prove myself wrong in the process of analysis.

River Flows In You by Yiruma really beautiful… shared from...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:25:21 -0500

River Flows In You by Yiruma

really beautiful…

shared from exfm

My Spring 2012 electives...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:51:17 -0500

I have gotten my top electives again this semester at Yale School of Architecture. It can be a soul crushing process, as I have mentioned before, but I’ve been incredibly lucky thus far.

Peter Eisenman’s seminar this year is about Piranesi’s Campo Marzio (below). We have the unimaginable and impossible task of tracing the plan in 2D CAD format as well as making a digital 3D model from which we will be building a physical model for an exhibition at Yale in September.

Eisenman was inspired by Dean Robert A. M. Stern’s seminar last year called Parallel Moderns, which I was also fortunate enough to have taken. In his class, we reinterpreted the facades along the Strada Novissimo at the 1980 Venice Biennale. We were assigned an architect and then wrote a 15-20 page catalogue of their work in addition to rebuilding/redesigning a physical model of their façade while considering their entire body of work. We recreated the Strada for the final review last December on the central, fourth floor pit. Peter Eisenman crashed our review, and naturally, a great discussion ensued.

So, through the lens of Piranesi we are asked to interpret/ reinterpret Campo Marzio, while of course, considering the dense readings of Tafuri, Rowe, Aureli, Perez-Gomez, Wittkower, Kantor-Kazovsky, etc. Really looking forward to this semester.

looking for cities in vector based format...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:26:00 -0500

I am looking to analyze a variety of cities in order to compare their scalar differences, figure-ground relationships and their means of transporation. GIS (Geographical Information Services) is not complying, so if anyone out there has a major city, or town in any vector-based format that I can use for this comparison I would greatly appreciate it. You can email me at: info at daisyames dot com

I am looking for a wide range of cities and towns… so anything from Mexico City to a small African village would be useful. Thank you!

For my classmates who are also reading The Crisis of the Object:...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:13:52 -0500

For my classmates who are also reading The Crisis of the Object: The Predicament of Texture by Fred Koetter and Colin Rowe, it mentions this church, Santa Maria della Consolazione at Todi, Italy which I visited two years ago… Enjoy!

I made these sequence of collages to capture the varying lifestyles that the typical businessman in...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:46:00 -0500

I made these sequence of collages to capture the varying lifestyles that the typical businessman in Stamford, CT transitions through on a daily basis. This is all in part to capture the inherent culture of Stamford, which we are redesigning/re-evaluating for our studio project this year. The first image is the bustling commute from New York City, followed by an image of the regimented corporate environment in Stamford. Then, the next image represents the family life in the suburbs juxtaposed to the life of indulgence after hours. Below these images is a sequence of abstractions from these collages that could possibly be used to inform our design in some way. Right now these ideas are very indirect and uncalculated and I am enjoying this approach for once.

Urban Design Studio and Mad Men...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:19:58 -0500

For our design studio this year we are doing an urban design project in groups of two in Stamford, Connecticut. We are analyzing the current social, economic, and physical parameters of the area and making design strategies based on the direction we think the area would benefit most. Stamford is currently a corporate financial satellite for New York City and hosts a bustling transportation corridor along the Northeastern coastline. It is a town that “works,” economically-speaking, and provides the city with what it needs to accommodate the commuting workers and other operational aspects of the city in a timely and spacious manner. We have been given two sites to focus our attention on for the first few weeks. One site is in the downtown financial district, and one site on the water, and they are separated by a large low-income multi-family housing district and a cemetery. My partner and I have recognized that the educated workers that commute to Stamford return to New York City immediately after work and have no need stay. An idea of ours is to establish one or both sites as a place for these workers to spend their time, and potentially view Stamford as a place that offers as good a night life or experience as New York City. Since the commuting population is generally stereotyped as the white, educated, cookie-cutter, corporate, young singles, we have made the obvious reference to Mad Men. So what we want our urban design initiatives to do is encourage these professionals to invest in Stamford, and find a way to keep them there so that Stamford becomes its own enclave of New York City. We are considering Brooklyn, “an enclave of Manhattan,” as an example in which people initially moved their for economical reasons but now have chosen to be separate and embrace the particular “inherent” style that comes along with it, given the fact that places like Williamsburg have rent prices comparable to Manhattan. Yet, Stamford, we are arguing already has its own style – a la Mad Men… and it is our challenge to create spaces and architecture that support this way of life.

Spring 2012... back in action!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:19:00 -0500

It was the first weekend back at Yale and we had class all weekend - learning Revit. While we already had a few tutorials on Revit last year, this year we are expected to integrate MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) systems into our structures. It’s extremely fascinating how already, in these few days, the dialogue around design has changed significantly once the reality of floor plate thicknesses and duct-work has been introduced.

I was apprehensive about System Integration, but firms are starting to be required to make the leap and communicate better with contractors and other consultants via such programs. It’s really nice to have it included into our curriculum as second years students.

It was my first night working in studio, and I felt my heart racing with excitement for the coming year. Plus, I just came home to a few paintings I worked on over the weekend drying on my kitchen table, and Log 22 on my bed. Feeling very fortunate.

night shot - memorial to the murdered jews by peter eisenman

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:22:00 -0500

night shot - memorial to the murdered jews by peter eisenman

looking up…

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:27:18 -0500

looking up…

"Sometimes people just don’t understand - in which case, you help them. And then, sometimes,..."

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:28:04 -0500

“Sometimes people just don’t understand - in which case, you help them. And then, sometimes, it’s you who doesn’t understand - in which case, you figure it out yourself.”

- Daisy

Peter Eisenman introducing his Advanced Studio at Yale School of Architecture to the final review...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:46:00 -0500

Peter Eisenman introducing his Advanced Studio at Yale School of Architecture to the final review critics while holding a stuffed guerilla with a football. Critics include: David Chipperfield, Harry Cobb, Peggy Deamer, Stanley Tigerman, Mark Wigley, Guido Zuilliani, Lucia Allais, Pier Vittoria Aureli and Sylvia Lavin… Very tough critics and very lively discussion so far!

when your mind's not in the gutter but designing one...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:08:00 -0500

Chris: "Oh my gawd. These are so freaking sex-y!"

Me: "Are you talking about plans by any chance?"

Chris: "I am. Come look."

That serious conversation just happened... literally talking about architectural plans of buildings.

Rhino script for your use...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:09:51 -0500

I am a big fan of axonometric drawings, partiuclarly exploded axos like the one below. So, I thought it would be helpful for those who do not have the script to provide it and include some simple directions.

1. First, save your model under a different name because your model will get distorted.

2. View your model in Perspective (even though no persepctive is being used)… just anything other than the given ‘top,’ ‘back,’ ‘right,’ ‘left’ etc…

3. Enter this script: ! _Select _Pause _SetActiveViewport Top _Rotate 0 30 _SetActiveViewport Right

_Shear w0 w0,0,1 -45 _SetActiveViewport Top _Zoom _All _Extents

4. Then you can view your axonometric in the Top view.

5. From there you can Make2D to get the line-work only.

* For this exploded axo, I saved the file in model form before ‘Making2D’ so that I could select layers and pull apart the components ie the structural framework and fenestration. After “Making2D” I was able to isolate the components and extrude the parts equidistant. And, of course, I brought it into Illustrator for line-work and a little fine tuning to come…

finally able to sit down tonight and crank out a model…...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:28:00 -0500

finally able to sit down tonight and crank out a model… not quite “betchin” yet but it’s getting there… still a work in progress…

Photo

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:53:46 -0500

"I don’t have to have a physical church. What could be more beautiful than the church in which..."

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:53:23 -0500

“I don’t have to have a physical church. What could be more beautiful than the church in which you are surrounded by nature. This is my God.”

- Julius Shulman, architectural photographer

Photo

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:19:31 -0500

Stairs are a designed experience, use them...

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:27:00 -0500

Unless I am carrying something heavy or fragile, I always take the stairs. Call me old-school, I’ll take it, just don’t make me take the elevator. I really enjoy the formal entrance of the Rudolph Building with its wide stretch, low rise and deep run. It makes me appreciate the process of entering the building as it was intended and designed. Whereas, I find elevators cheapen the experience of a building and leave me feeling a bit jipped when I immediately arrive at my destination. I have spent hours designing stairs in my studio project, and interrogated various stair typologies - ie the ones that were meant as a means of egress verses the ones that exist only as a symbol and never actually used.

*(Yale Architecture Building by Paul Rudolph on the left, Nanjing Museum by Steven Holl on the right.)

Stairs are wonderful! They force you to understand where you are in a building, what each level means to the different users, and most importantly, allows you to interact on a normal and perfectly brief moment with others inhabiting the building as well. The elevator, however, forces you into an awkwardly silent, deathly state, where you’re constantly teeter-tottering on the idea of asking the person you’re in the elevator with how they are doing. Once you do, it’s always time to go - never allowing a conversation to blossom or end smoothly. The stair allows you to say hi, engage in conversation if desired, or smile at the very least. And, a well-designed stair, like the Yale Architecture building, provides landings at every turnaround, making it easy for one to step to the side to talk or simply “rest” quietly and look out the openings on to York Street. These human interactions are at the core of what architecture is able to achieve, and are important to consider when designing.

I say to hell with the elevator, move your ass, and take the stairs… it just may get a little firmer! Who knows!?!